All not-for-profit applicants must now pre-qualify on the NYS Grants Reform website at
grantsreform.ny.gov/grantees in order
to apply for certain New York State grant solicitations. Potential not-for-profit applicants are strongly encouraged
to begin the process of registering and prequalifying immediately, as this is a lengthy process.

Department of Environmental Conservation

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is continuously accepting applications for Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs). TAGs are a citizen participation tool available to eligible community groups to increase public awareness and understanding of remedial activities taking place in their community. Eligible community groups may apply to receive grants for up to $50,000 per eligible site. There is no matching contribution required on the part of the grant recipient.

Eligibility:
A community group must be a non-responsible-party community group incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation having 501(c)(3) status under the Internal Revenue Code; be a group whose members’ health, economic well-being or enjoyment of the environment may be affected by a release or threatened release of contamination at the eligible site; and be a group whose membership represents the interests of the community affected by the eligible site. Sites that are eligible for a TAG include:

Class 2 sites on the New York State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites (State Superfund Program significant threat sites); or

Sites being remediated under the State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has determined pose a significant threat to public health and/or the environment.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is now accepting applications for their Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries program. The purpose of this program is to encourage libraries and archives to test and evaluate specific innovations in the ways they operate and the services they provide. Sparks Grants support the development, testing and evaluation of groundbreaking new tools, products, services, or organizational practices. Successful proposals will address problems, challenges, and needs of broad relevance to libraries and/or archives and propose a significant innovation.

Eligibility:
Applicants that fulfill the general criteria for libraries may apply, such as a library or a parent organization, a school district, a municipality, a state agency, or an academic institution, that is responsible for the administration of a library. Eligible libraries include public libraries; elementary and secondary school libraries; college and university libraries; research libraries and archives; an academic or administrative unit, such as a graduate school of library and information science; a digital library; a library agency that is an official agency of a state or other unit of government; a library consortium that is a local, statewide, regional, interstate, or international cooperative association of library entities; or a library association that exists on a permanent basis and serves libraries or library professionals on a national, regional, state or local level.

The U.S. Soccer Foundation is accepting letters of inquiry for their Safe Places to Play program. The foundation is seeking project proposals in urban areas where available space for children to play outside is limited. The program provides grants to organizations to help them build or enhance a field space in their community. Safe Places to Play grants are available in four categories: Synthetic Turf, Lighting, Irrigation and Sport Court.

Eligibility:
Applicants must apply on behalf of a program or project operating in the U.S.; be a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, school, municipality, college or university, or sovereign tribal nation; and have a minimum ten-year land lease/land use agreement where the field-building project will take place.

The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is accepting applications for their Artists’ Fellowships. Artists’ Fellowships are cash awards made to individual originating artists living and working in the state of New York. The fellowships offered are not project grants, but are unrestricted awards intended to fund an artist’s vision or voice, regardless of the level of his or her artistic development.

Eligibility:
Applicants must be 25 years old or older and be a current resident of New York State and/or one of the Indian nations located in New York State for at least two consecutive years prior to February 10, 2014. Individuals who are graduate or undergraduate students enrolled in any degree program at the time of the application deadline or are past recipients of a NYFA Fellowship award in the last five years are not eligible to apply.

Funding:
$7,000 per award

Deadline:
February 10, 2014 for crafts/sculpture and digital/electronic arts. February 11, 2014 for nonfiction literature, poetry and printmaking/drawing/book arts.

Contact: Email: fellowships@nyfa.org
Website: www.nyfa.org

Scholar Awards…

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has announced their Dissertation Fellowship Award to support advanced doctoral students who are completing dissertations that further the understanding of the educational pathways and experiences of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. The fellowship is intended to focus more scholarly attention on the population of students the Foundation serves in order to enable practitioners, parents, schools and communities to better support them in achieving their full potential. The foundation seeks to provide funding for doctoral candidates whose work informs and advances the following populations/aspects of our mission:

high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds;

students who demonstrate the potential for achievement; and/or

the conditions that promote high achievement (e.g., school settings, interventions, policies).

Dissertation fellowships are intended to support the doctoral student for work done after the student’s dissertation proposal has been successfully defended. Applications are encouraged from a variety of disciplines including, but not limited to, education, sociology, economics, psychology, statistics and psychometrics.

Eligibility:
Eligible applicants must currently be studying at an accredited U.S. institution; must be advanced doctoral students who have completed all pre-dissertation requirements; must have successfully defended their dissertation proposal before the application deadline; and must not have previously received a scholarship or other funding from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Funding:
The fellowship is a one-time award of up to $25,000, which may be used for a period of no less than nine months, up to 18 months, beginning in June 2014.

The Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) has announced their Translational Cancer Research Fellowship. The intent of the fellowship is to provide additional support to individuals who are engaged in any area of clinical and/or translational cancer research in order to further the development of their careers and enhance their future success in an academic discipline. The fellowship will provide a one-year non-renewable grant to support post-doctoral training to individuals who have completed at least one year of training in any field of oncology and have at least one year of training remaining at an AACI member institution. This award is designed to help ensure that qualified applicants receive research training and experience under the guidance of highly trained, well-respected researchers who have demonstrated success in their field of research.

Eligibility:
The applicant must be sponsored by a mentor from an AACI member cancer center (one applicant permitted per institution); have completed at least one year of training in any oncology specialty and have at least one year of training remaining at an AACI member institution; show innovation with potential for major scientific or clinical advancement; have an appropriate mentor for the project; hold a professional degree of MD, PhD, PharmD, DO, or MD/PhD or foreign equivalency; and not yet have been appointed to a faculty position, including that of instructor. Applicants must be in the first five years of a postdoctoral or clinical research fellowship at an AACI member academic, medical or research institution.

The Foundation Center
The Foundation Center has scheduled the following free training classes.

Grant writing

Grant-seeking Basics: February 13
Attendees will learn how the Center’s resources help make them more effective grantseekers. For beginners, this introduction to the library provides instruction in foundation research and identification of potential funders. A tour of the library will follow.

Introduction to Finding Funders: February 13
This class provides a hands-on introduction on how to use the center’s comprehensive online database – The Foundation Directory Online – to research and identify potential funders. The Foundation Directory Online contains over 100,000 profiles of grant-making institutions.

Proposal Writing Basics: February 11
Attendees will learn about the basics of writing a proposal for their nonprofit organization.

Proposal Budgeting Basics:February 11
Attendees will learn how to prepare and present a budget in a grant proposal. This session is geared toward novice grantseekers.

In addition:

Classes are held at The Foundation Center, located at:

New York Library
79 Fifth Ave. 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10003

Space is limited, so register as soon as possible.

For additional training opportunities, to register, or for more information, call 212-620-4230 or visit
www.foundationcenter.org.

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